Pokémon: Journey Through Kanto
by turtledove237
Summary: Sierra, a 15 year old fire type trainer comes to Kanto in the place of her bed ridden brother. Her goal? Explore the land, fill out the pokedex, fight the gyms and maybe meet that legendary she's always wanted to along the way. With Ash and her pokemon by her side, she'll take on Kanto step by step until she's accomplished her dream. (AshxOC)
1. The New Girl In Kanto

**CHAPTER 1~ THE NEW GIRL IN KANTO**

_A/N: To anyone who just clicked on this story, thank you so much! This is my first time writing a pokemon fic and I apologize if some of the characters seem OOC. However, I'm trying to write them the way I believe fits their age since I actually put the ages in the way they SHOULD be. Anyway, this is my own season of pokemon that I'm trying writing based on the way I believe it should go. I honestly think that the writers are trying to hard to create new pokemon and therefore I am returning to the origin of the show. I hope you enjoy and please review to tell me what you think! _

The girls feet began to drag as she and her vulpix continued walking under the hot sun. Naturally, the fire pokemon was enjoying the heat, but the human girl, not so much.

"Ah Jeez Vulpix, it feels like we're never gonna get there." She complained. The vulpix stopped and nudged its head against her as if to say _'quit complaining and keep moving.'_

"Yeah, yeah, I know, we have a schedule and we have to get to Professor Oaks lab _today_, but does Viridian City really have to be so far away? I mean, we've been walking without stop for the entire day. It's already four!"

The fox pokemon barked at her and then took off running ahead to the top of the hill they were walking up. The girl groaned. She knew her pokemon would want her to run up as well, but she really wasn't in the mood. However, when Vulpix ran back down and began to nip at her legs, she knew she had no choice.

"Alright already! Look see, I'm running!" She yelled, running up the hill.

The girl's name is Sierra Tyson. Sierra is a fifteen year old girl with short, choppy, brownish orange hair with side bangs (the longest tip reaching the top of her shoulder blades) and soft blue eyes. She wore a long sleeved, form fitting dark red shirt tucked into beige shorts that were a bit to big and held together with a brown belt. Over it was a salmon colored vest with pockets on the breasts. Around her neck was a necklace with three orange oval pieces all connected by a lighter orange stone. She also wore brown fingerless gloves on her hands, brown combat boots and a pair of red goggles with salmon lenses on her head like a head band.

Once she reached the top of the hill, she felt like she could have cried out with joy. Just beyond it was the quiet and small town known as Pallet town. It was here that Professor Oak was located and a few other important people, but she didn't know that yet.

"Vulpix! We made it!"

The pokemon yipped in agreement. With a new found energy, the trainer and her pokemon took off running down the hill as they finished their journey to the town, laughing and smiling the entire way.

* * *

The doors to Professor Oaks lab opened to reveal an out of breath Sierra and an energetic Vulpix at her feet. Not three feet away from her stood the great professor himself. Sierra straitened up and smiled, holding out a hand.

"Good afternoon professor, I'm Sierra Tyson. I believe my father told you I would be coming, correct?"

"Oh of course!" The professor agreed, shaking her hand. His eyes lit up with recognition. He scanned her over with a smile, though one thing definitely stuck out.

She was short.

If he had to guess her hight, he would put her about 5'1 give or take a couple centimeters. Though what she lacked in hight she made up in spirit, he mused, noticing the fire burning in her baby blue eyes. He'd heard all about what she was planning to do and she was plenty determined to do it.

"Let me just put this pokemon food away and then I'll show you to the main lab where I can explain more about the pokedex, alright?"

"Of course! Thanks so much professor!" The girl agreed. He laughed and gestured for her to take a seat while he put the food away.

Sierra took a seat on a small leather couch pressed against the wall next to the door and as soon as she sat down, Vulpix jumped up and sat on her lap. Her mind wandered as she stroked the fox creature gently. She only had about a year and a half to collect data on all the pokemon in the region including legendaries and accomplish her own dream as well. It was going to be tough, thats for sure, but with a little elbow grease she was sure she could make it.

"Sorry for making you wait. Follow me, right this way." The professor spoke from in front of her. She was silent as she got up and followed him through the building, taking in the sight of it all.

As they walked down one corridor, the two partners looked to their right and noticed a large window, however there was a glint so they couldn't see through it. Vulpix stopped and sat down in front of Sierra. It was her way of asking to be picked up so she could see what was through the window.

Sierra bit her lip as she looked between the still walking professor and the pokemon in front of her. On one hand, she could pick up Vulpix and take a quick look but on the other hand she might lose the professor in the process and if there was one thing she was known for, it was her crap navigation skills.

Suddenly, there was a hand on her shoulder. She jolted in shock and looked up to find the professor smiling down at her. She made a mental note that he liked to smile a lot.

"Go ahead, you can take a quick peak. I'll just wait right here."

The brunette broke out into a grin. "Thank you so much!" She opened her arms wide and Vulpix didn't hesitate for a second before leaping into her trainers arm. Once Sierra had her in a secure hold, she rushed over to look through the window.

"Oh wow." She whispered in awe. Vulpix mewed its agreement. The window showed an area that was just outside the lab. It was fenced off and was filled with dozens and dozens of pokemon of all different shapes and sizes. She had never seen so many pokemon together in one spot in her entire life. There were so many she couldn't even count. She placed a hand on the window, and Vulpix did the same (except it was a paw of course.)

"Professor. What is all this?" She whispered. The old man chuckled.

"You see, trainers are only allowed to have six pokemon on hand at all times, but sometimes they catch more than that. So, when they can't take care of the extra pokemon they catch, they send them here to my lab and I take care of them. Trust me though, that doesn't happen as often as you would think. Usually, trainers can stick to the 6 pokemon rule." A black haired teen crossed his mind, making him laugh internally. The majority of the pokemon in there were his after all.

Sierra didn't reply to him as she was too busy still staring through the window, whispering and smiling with the vulpix in her arm.

"Why don't you go take a quick look inside?" He suggested.

The girl spun on her heals. "Really? You mean you don't mind?"

"No, not at all. Just don't be to long, I am a busy man you know! The doors right over there."

"Thank you thank you thank you!" She yelled excitedly. Vulpix looked up at her and tapped her arm lightly.

"Oh! I mean uh, thank you very much." She said instead, bowing while doing so. However, as soon as she was up she was rushing through the door to the outside world.

Professor Oak placed a hand on his chin and hummed. _'Maybe I should have told her Ash was in there.'_

* * *

As soon as they heard the door close, all the pokemon stopped to look at the new comer standing in the doorway. Suddenly, Sierra thought that maybe it wasn't such a good idea, that is, until a cubone started walking towards her.

_'Aww, it's so cute!'_

Carefully, she crouched down onto her knees and held out a hand so the cubone wouldn't be intimidated by her. It continued on slowly, and all eyes in the room were on the three of them.

The cubone stopped within six inches of her hand and leaned forward slightly, sniffing it for anything that could be deemed dangerous. There was nothing. With a new resolve, it moved forward and pressed its head into her hand so that she cradled its face. The little pokemon looked up at her with delight in its eyes.

And that was it. Once Cubone had accepted her, the other pokemon did as well and they went back to doing what they had been before comfortably. Even if it wasn't grand or spectacular, it made Sierra and Vulpix feel welcomed, and for that they were grateful.

"Hey there little guy." Sierra smiled at the cubone, scratching it's head. Suddenly, It pounced forward and jumped straight into her chest, the force knocking her to the ground and giving her just enough time to wrap her arms around it.

"Damn, one day your going to have a really strong head butt." She decided. It had a look of hapiness in its eyes as they looked into hers.

"You're a boy, aren't you?" She asked, and the Cubone nodded his head happily. Vulpix came over to her trainer and began to lick her face.

"V-vulpix, that tickles!" She laughed, reaching up a hand to scratch the pokemon under the chin. She mewled happily and settled on the ground next to Sierra. Cubone turned itself over so it was also facing up at the sky and the three of them laid there just enjoying the view. The little ground pokemon saw a cloud of interest and raised it's stubby hand holding the bone, using it like a pencil to sketch the fluffy outline.

Sierra closed her eyes, humming with happiness as she felt the warmth of the sun on her skin until all of a sudden she didn't. She cracked open one eye to see what happened and instead found the figure of a human looming over her.

She opened the other eye to examine them. It was a boy around her age who seemed to be kind of tall. He had large brown eyes and black hair covered by a red hat with a black strip and yellow half pokeball design. He wore a three-quarter sleeved black shirt that hugged his arms and a blue, zipped-up vest with a white stripe going up the middle leading into a white collar. On his hands he wore green fingerless gloves and baggy gray cargo pants with red and black sneakers on his feet. Resting on his head was a pokemon that she identified as a pikachu. The boy smiled and sat down next to her, leaning back and using his hands to support his weight.

"Hi, I'm Ash and this is my buddy Pikachu." He stated while pointing to the pokemon on his head. Well, he definitely wasn't shy.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Sierra and this right here is my partner Vulpix. I just met this Cubone a few minutes ago, but he sure is cute, don't ya think?"

"Yeah. Cubone really seems to like you, I saw the whole thing."

"Well I like him too." She announced, looking fondly at the pokemon. A frown appeared on her face at the thought that it probably belonged to someone else but she wiped it away quickly.

There was a knock on the metal door. "Sierra, are you there? You'd better come back in now if you want to receive the pokedex before it gets dark."

"Coming!" She called back, getting up off the ground. She placed Cubone back down and headed for the door.

"Like I said, it was nice to meet you Ash but I have to get going now."

"Actually." He said while stretching and getting up "I was just finishing up here as well. Mind if I tag along while you get the pokedex?"

"Not at all." She grinned while opening the door. Professor Oak was slightly surprised to see the two of them together but waved it off. It was just like Ash to become friends with someone in just ten minutes.

"There you are. I trust you had a good visit my boy?"

"I'm not a boy professor, I'm sixteen." He grumbled.

"And I'm much older, so you'll always be a boy to me!"

Ash rolled his eyes but continued on. "Anyway, yeah I had a great visit! It's always nice to see everyone. Thanks so much for taking care of them for me."

"It's no trouble at all. Now, if you'd come this way please?" He asked. Both teens nodded and followed after him with their pokemon, letting the door shut behind them. However, they didn't notice a cubone slip through just before the door shut.

"Wow, there were so many pokemon in there. So Ash, which ones were yours?" Sierra asked, trying to make conversation. Ash scratched his face.

"Most of them actually."

"Oh come on, you can't have that many."

"You know all those Taurus in there? They're mine."

"Your kidding! There's like, 30 of them."

He chuckled. "Yeah, that's kind of a long story."

Professor Oak led them to a larger room with several pieces of equipment pressed against the walls and a shelf and a machine in the middle with a little touch screen and empty display case.

"Wow, whats that?" Sierra asked. Ash was curious too. He'd never seen something like it before.

"That's the new pokedex selector! You can customize the colors however you'd like and then it'll appear in the display case. I'll enter all the information you need from there." The professor explained.

"That's so cool!" Sierra gushed, rushing over to customize the pokedex the way she wanted it. While she did so, Ash and Professor Oak talked quietly amongst themselves. Eventually, she decided on a salmon top that matched the color of her vest, an orange bottom and white buttons and rims.

"Okay professor, all set!" She yelled, calling him over. He took a peak at what she had chosen and nodded. "Very original indeed. I like it. It'll just take me a few minutes to set up and then you'll be good to go."

"How come you're just getting one now anyway? Should't you have gotten a pokedex back home?" Ash asked

"Actually, I do have one with a few pokemon on it back home, but this one is for me and my twin brother Zach to share. See, Zach always had this kind of, obsession with Kanto. That's actually why I'm here in the first place. My goal is to enter data on all the pokemon in the Kanto region as well as take notes and pictures of the area and then bring it back to him when I'm done."

"How come he didn't just come on his own?"

"Zach's sick. When we were ten years old, just before he could start his journey, he became ill. At first, we thought it might just be a cold, but for some reason he would never get better. The plan was that he would go to Kanto and I would stay in Sinnoh to learn as much as I could about the pokemon there and then how to run my parents care-taking business. But then, our eleventh birthday came and he didn't get any better. I know I was supposed to journey on my own anyway, but I couldn't leave home knowing that Zach would be stuck there, so I decided to wait until he got better before leaving. The thing is, he never did. It was around a month ago he asked me."

_*Flashback*_

_"Hey Zach, how are you feeling?" Sierra asked as she placed the tray of food down on the table beside his bed. He didn't move, just stared down at his lap. _

_"Zach?" She asked again. Finally, Zach looked up at her and smiled. _

_"Sierra, theres something I want to ask you." _

_"Okay."_

_"Listen, at this point, it's pretty obvious that I'm never going to get better-" _

_"Don't say that!" Sierra interrupted. "You'll get better, I just know it!" _

_He raised a hand to silence her. "Let's better not to get our hopes up, okay? Anyway, my dream was to go to the Kanto region and it still is, but I don't think that I'm going to get there. That's where you come in." _

_"Zach, what are you-" _

_"Just listen to me, okay? This is my request. I want you to go to Kanto in my place. Get a pokedex, collect data on all the pokemon, write down what you see and take pictures, and when your done, come back and show me." _

_"There's no way! There's just no way you can do that!" She protested. He grabbed her shoulder. _

_"Yes there is. Sierra, please, I know that if its you, when you get back it'll be like I was there with you that entire time. I want you to do this, no, I need you do this. For me, please." _

_"I-I, alright. I'll go." She agreed with tears in her eyes. Her brother smiled gratefully and pulled her down into a hug which she returned with all the emotion she could. It may only be by two minutes, but he was still her big brother and also her best friend. They'd been together for fifteen years and with him sick, she didn't know if she could leave him. It felt like a part of her was sick too._

_"Sit up and close your eyes, there's something I want to give you." _

_The girl complied, sitting on the bed with her back turned to her brother. She heard him open a draw and then shut it and shuffle across the bed towards her. She felt a soft string material attach itself to her body and a click as it was linked together. Then, her brother pulled away. "Open your eyes." _

_Sierra opened her eyes and gasped. Around her neck was now a leather cord necklace with an orange pendant made up of three oval pieces fanning out and connecting by a lighter orange jewel. _

_"Zach, it's beautiful." She whispered, not knowing what else to say. _

_"Whenever you look at that necklace, just remember that I'm waiting and rooting for you back home, okay?" _

_"I-I just, I don't know if I can do this alone." _

_"You won't be. Take Vulpix with you. She's always liked you better anyway."_

_Her eyes widened. Vulpix was the pokemon they had raised together ever since their parents gave it to them as an egg for their seventh birthday. The three of them did almost everything together. _

_"But who's gonna be with you then?" _

_"I'll always have mom and dad. Besides, I heard that they're getting me a new egg for our birthday in a few months." _

_"O-Okay. If that's what you really want, then I'll go."_

_Zach relaxed. "Thank you." _

_Wordlessly, Sierra crawled onto the bed to snuggle up against him and he opened his arms into a welcoming embrace that she quickly relaxed into. _

_"I love you Zach." _

_"I love you too sis." _

_The next day with Vulpix by her side, Sierra left for the Kanto region. _

_*End of Flashback.* _

Ash was silent with a newfound respect for the girl in front of him. Sure, he'd left his mother plenty of times to go out on different journey's but if she had been sick, would he really have been able to leave her?

"Here you go. It's all set." Professor Oak answered, handing Sierra the new pokedex. She thanked him and slipped it into one of the pockets of her shorts.

"So Sierra, where do you plan to go from here?"

"I'm not sure. I'll have to double back to Viridian City and then go from there I guess. I don't have any particular route to take."

"Do you at least have a place to stay for the night?"

The girl seemed to visibly deflate. She took a deep breath before crouching on the ground and curling up into a ball. "I-I hadn't exactly thought of that yet."

"Well." Ash began." You could stay with me if you want. My house has an extra bedroom and my mom is always ready for company. She wouldn't mind and neither would I."

Sierra lifted her head up. "You wouldn't mind?"

"Not at all." He laughed. _'Does do this a lot?'_

"Thank you!" she cheered, popping up off the ground. The professor and Ash sweat dropped.

"Well then, we'd better get going. My house isn't to far from the lab and I'm sure dinners almost ready. Thanks for everything professor!" Ash called, heading for the door. Pikachu scrambled over and quickly climbed on Ash's shoulder and waved.

"Thanks!" Sierra called as she followed Ash out. The door slid open revealing a cubone on the other side. When it saw her, it jumped up into the air and straight towards her chest which she caught with ease. It looked up at her with tears in its eyes.

"Oh, umm, it looks like the Cubone from earlier got inside. Do you want me to bring it back on the way out?" Sierra asked awkwardly.

Cubone let out a cry and buried its head into her shoulder, a clear sign that it wasn't leaving any time soon. Professor Oak smiled.

"Why don't you take Cubone with you instead?"

Both the trainer and the pokemon looked at the professor with shock. "But doesn't this pokemon belong to someone else?"

"No actually. A friend of mine gave it to me as an egg for research. Now that it's hatched and I've gotten all the data I need, I was planning on giving it away as a starter pokemon, though something tells me though that it wouldn't accept anyone else as its trainer now but you. If you come back tomorrow before you leave, I can give you its pokeball. Think of it as a good luck gift from me to you, yeah?"

"Whoa, seriously!"

"Seriously."

"I don't know what to say! Thank you so much!" She yelled while spinning around with the pokemon in her hands. Both Cubone and the trainer laughed while Vulpix jumped around with them and Ash watched with a smile.

"Welcome to the team as my first pokemon here in Kanto Cubone!"

"Cu-Cubone!"

* * *

"MOM I'M HOME AND I BROUGHT A FRIEND!" Ash yelled as soon as they were inside the Ketchum home.

"Let me guess" A woman's voice called back "It's a girl, right?"

Ash blushed as Sierra let out a laugh. A moment later, they were joined in the hallway by a woman with long brown hair tied back into a ponytail wearing a long sleeved pink shirt and blue denim skirt with an apron over it.

"Hi, I'm Delia, Ash's mom."

"Hello , I'm Sierra Tyson. It's very nice to meet you."

"I don't have that many friends that are girls." Ash mumbled.

_"_Don't you mean you don't have that many friends that are guys?"

He scowled but didn't argue anymore on the subject. "Oh, dinners ready!" His mother added.

The teen was gone and in the kitchen before either women could blink. Delia shook her head good-naturedly and then lead Sierra to the kitchen, informing her to eat as much as she'd like and that there was plenty of food. However, watching Ash shove as much food as he could down his throat, it didn't seem that way.

Still, Sierra sat down and took _normal _portions of food and Delia put some pokemon food down for Vulpix, Cubone and Pikachu to eat. Ash didn't talk until there wasn't anymore food on his plate and most of the serving dishes as well.

"Ah thanks mom! That was the best!" He exclaimed, and she laughed.

"You always say that."

"Because its always true."

"I agree." Sierra piped in. "Your a very good cook. It may not be gourmet, but its home."

Delia was silent for a moment, then smiled. "Thank you. Now why don't you all move to the living room I'll clean up in here, alright?"

* * *

Sierra was shocked by the number of different badges and awards that were idolized onto the wall in the Ketchum living room. There were just so many!

"Wow, this is incredible. And these are all yours?"

Ash chuckled. "Yeah. I've got all the badges from Kanto, Johto, the Orange Islands, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova. I've also made it to the pokemon league in each one, but I haven't become champion just yet."

"You seem like quite the traveler then, huh?"

"Yeah." He agreed, letting out a deep breath. "Right now is kind of rest period for me. I've been here for about a month just spending time at home and with my pokemon. It's kind of nice to be back in Kanto, you know?"

"Not really. I mean, it's my first time leaving home, but I do miss it." She admitted sheepishly. Ash nodded.

"Right. So, I know you're here for your brother and all, but do you have your goal to accomplish? Since you're here, that is."

"Weeelllllll, there is one pokemon that I've always wanted to see, but I'm not strong enough to do that yet."

"Maybe you could try challenging the gyms then. It'll help you get stronger and your goal could be to defeat all of them." He suggested.

Sierra turned and looked fondly at her pokemon. Vulpix was lying down and talking to Pikachu while Cubone leaned against her using her like a pillow as he took a nap. "That might be a bit difficult since I'm pretty much an exclusive fire type trainer." She thought for a moment and then added "With a few exceptions." directed at Cubone.

"That'll just make it more of a challenge and more fun. I'm sure you can do it if you put your mind to it." Ash argued.

"I'll sleep on it."

"Speaking of sleeping, its getting pretty late, we should head to bed. I'll show you to your room for the night."

"Thank you." Sierra smiled. She walked over to the pokemon and carefully scooped Cubone into her arms. Vulpix trailed after her and together, the five of them headed upstairs.

* * *

Now changed into her pajamas, (a pair of shorts and a large pink tee-shirt with her hair tied into a low ponytail) Sierra snuggled into the bed. She was holding onto Cubone like a teddy bear with Vulpix curled up onto the pillow next to her head just like she'd been doing for the past month. She sighed softly when Sierra ran a hand gently through her fur.

She loved Vulpix dearly and she was already beginning to love Cubone, and she wanted the two of them to be at their best. Any good trainer would. So, was the way to go to train them for battles and challenge the gym leaders?

Vulpix would probably like it. The little fire pokemon was probably the most responsible out of the three of them, but that didn't mean she wasn't full of energy. Vulpix loved to run and practice fire type moves which they did a lot. Usually, Sierra would draw targets on trees and then Vulpix would work on her ember attack by hitting them and seeing how a deep a hole she could create in the bark. The shots were always condensed and packed with power because that was just her style.

She didn't know about Cubone yet. She'd just received the little guy after all. However, Cubone was brave enough to approach her first when she went into the pokemon pen at Professor Oak's lab and even wandered inside to find her. Based on this, he would probably be a good fighter and never back done from a challenge.

As she began to lose consciousness, Sierra smiled. Yeah, yeah she would challenge the gyms.

And she would beat every single one too.

_A/N: To anyone who actually read to the end of this chapter, Thank you so much! It honestly means a lot. I hope your enjoying the story so far and please review! _


	2. Let the Journey Begin!

**CHAPTER 2~ LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN!**

Sierra woke up around seven the next morning and stumbled down the stairs with Cubone clinging to her head and Vulpix in her arms. Her goggles were hanging limp around her neck but somehow, her hair was perfectly fine.

"Good morning." She yawned, wandering into the kitchen, drawn by the scent of food. Delia laughed as she walked in.

"Good morning Sierra, did you sleep well?"

"Hmm?" The girl mumbled, still half asleep.

"Never mind. I'll wait until your up. Help yourself to some pancakes." A plate of pancakes was placed in front of her which she only half registered. Still, she put Vulpix on the ground where she was given pokemon food and began to eat.

"You know, you remind me of Ash in the morning." Delia laughed. Footsteps sounded down the stairs and then Ash stumbled into the kitchen. He took a look around and blinked a few times, then rubbed his eyes.

"Am I still dreaming or is there a Cubone on Sierra's head?" He slurred. Sierra looked up dazed and placed a hand on her head. Instead of hitting her head she hit a body.

"Oh, good morning Cubone."

"Cu-Cu" It replied, sleep evident in its voice.

* * *

Sierra finished breakfast first and went upstairs to get changed. Ash continued to eat silently, pushing food around on his plate. Delia smiled softly and sat across from him. Something was bothering him and she new exactly what.

"Go." She simply said.

Ash looked up. "Sorry, what?"

His mother rolled her eyes. "Ash, I've known you for sixteen years and I can tell that you want to go with her. As your mother and a person who cares about you, I'm encouraging you to go. You're not someone to stay in one place for long periods of time, and thats just fine. I can tell you've been getting bored anyway."

"Mom." He whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

"Just remember to take care of her and say hi to a few of your friends along the way, okay? Oh, and don't forget extra underwear and-"

"I know! I already packed anyway." He interrupted.

She laughed with tears in her eyes. She should have know he would already be packed. Truthfully, it was lonely sometimes without him, but if it was Ash, then he would be just fine.

"Then go upstairs and get dressed."

"I will." He agreed, getting up out of his chair.

"And don't forget to tell her your going!"

She heard a crash and knew that Ash had just tripped on the way up the stairs. He was probably planning on following her out of Professor Oaks lab assuming she would know he was traveling with her.

* * *

Ash slipped his backpack over his shoulders and smirked. So, looks like it was time to hit the road again. He was glad that this time he would be staying in Kanto. It was a good opportunity to visit some of his friends, relive memories and explore places he had missed before.

Pikachu scrambled up his shoulder. "Pi-Pika!"

"Yeah, right. Wouldn't want her to leave without us, huh?"

He quickly rushed down the stairs. Sierra was at the door bowing and thanking his mom for everything. The googles were back on her head while Cubone rested in her arms and Vulpix at her feet bowing her thanks as well.

"Sierra!" He yelled, jumping over the last step.

"Oh hey Ash! I was just about to head out."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Suddenly, his stomach felt like a jumble of nerves. What if she said no? What if he was just getting his hopes up for nothing? Was it always this hard to ask to travel with someone?

"Okay, so are you going to speak or are we going to stand here all day?"

Vulpix nipped at her leg. "Ow! Sorry, that was rude of me to say." She winced out and Vulpix gave her a satisfied nod.

Ash scratched at the back of his head. "Yeah. See, I was wondering if it would be okay for us to travel together? I know we just met yesterday and I've already traveled through Kanto but I think theres a lot of things I missed when I was a kid and there are still a lot of people I need to thank so..."

Sierra laughed. "I'm getting a sense of de-ja vu here, aren't you?"

The teen was confused until he remembered their conversation yesterday when he suddenly asked her to go with her to get the pokedex at the last moment. He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Okay, getting back on topic, yes. I would love to travel with you Ash. I'm kind of crap with directions anyway, so its a good thing you know your way around Kanto. My mom and dad were already worried about me getting lost."

Ash's mouth grew into a grin almost to large for his face. He threw his fist up into the air. "ALRIGHT! What are we waiting for then? I'm just itchin' to get out on the road again. Bye mom, I'll call you later!" He grabbed one of Sierra's wrists and dashed out the door.

"WHOA! BYE ! I GUESS YOU'LL BE HEARING FROM US SOON!" Sierra yelled over her shoulder, clutching tightly to Cubone with one arm. Vulpix was dashing after them excitedly and Pikachu was waving from his spot on Ash's shoulder.

Delia exchanged glances with and blinked. "Well that was quick."

"Mime mime."

* * *

Ash didn't let go of her wrist until they entered Professor Oak's lab. "Professor! We're here!"

A door slid open and another teen entered the room. He was about Ash's hight with tall, spiky orange hair wearing a purple shirt, dark wash jeans, brown boots and a necklace.

"Wow Ash, you're here before noon. What a surprise." The boy mocked. Ash glared slightly.

"Oh, hi Gary."

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your new girlfriend? What happened to the last one? What's her name-"

"Iris?" Ash asked.

"Wait, there was _another _one before her? I guess I meant the one _before _that."

"Dawn?"

Gary snapped his fingers. "Yeah! Dawn. So, what happened with her?"

Ash growled slightly. He really wasn't in the mood for _Gary _today. "She's starting her own fashion line, I think."

Gary pretended to be horrified. "You mean you don't even know?"

"SO" Sierra interrupted loudly, taking note of how tense Ash was and his shaking fists. "I'm Sierra, nice to meet you, is the professor around?"

"You mean the old man? Yeah, said something about getting a girl a pokeball for a Cubone. I take it that's you?" He asked, glancing at the Cubone in her arms. She nodded.

"That's right. We're just stopping to get it and then we're off."

"Traveling again Ash?"

"Yes I am."

"Where to now? Somewhere in the middle of the ocean?"

"Here actually. We're staying in Kanto so Sierra can do research and explore for her brother."

"Sierra, Ash! I was wondering when you'd be coming. I'm actually surprised your here so early."

Ash's eye twitched. Was it really that hard to believe he was up early today? It wasn't even that early/ It was already like, nine in the morning.

Sierra bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Yup, here we are. Do you have the pokeball ready?"

"Right here." He reached into his lab coat and pulled out a pokeball, then tossed it over to Sierra. She caught it with her one free hand and slipped it into her bag. The professor seemed surprised. "You're not going to use it?"

"No. I don't like to keep pokemon hauled up like that. Instead, I like to think of pokeballs as contracts if you know what I mean."

"Hmm. I've never thought of it that way before. So, your not going to keep _any _of your pokemon in their pokeballs."

She shook her head. "Not a single one."

Ash was apparently not listening to their conversation as he was to busy squabbling with Gary. Sierra guessed that the professor must have been used to it since he wasn't doing anything to stop them.

"Here." He said, handing her four more pokeballs. "Four more 'contracts' for you since you are allowed to keep six pokemon at all times."

"Thank you." Sierra smiled, placing those in her bag as well. Cubone jumped out of her arms and ran around chasing Vulpix, happy at the idea of not going into the pokeball.

"Ash?" Professor Oak called. The two boys stopped fighting for a moment to look over at him. "I was wondering if you were planning on taking any of your other pokemon with you or starting over again. If thats the case, I can get you a few empty pokeballs."

Ash shook his head. "No need, I've actually thought of this already. I decided that every time Sierra gets a new pokemon, I'll have one transferred to me from here as well. That way, we'll always have the same amount of pokemon on hand. The only exception is that I can switch out pokemon with you if I need to."

"Interesting. Since Sierra has two now, which one are you going to take?"

"I've thought about that too. Do you think you could go and get Totodile for me?"

"Any particular reason for choosing that one?"

"He seemed kind of lonely yesterday. I think he needs to be out and traveling again, just like me."

"Can't argue with logic like that. Gary, can you get Totodile please?"

Gary huffed but did as his grandfather asked. As soon as he left the room, Ash relaxed.

"Sierra, didn't you get Cubone's pokeball?"

"Yup."

"How come you didn't put him in it then?"

She sighed. "If you hadn't been fighting with Gary, you probably would have heard when I told Professor Oak."

He gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry."

"That's alright." She waved off. " Anyway, it's because I don't believe in putting pokemon in pokeballs. I think of pokeballs as contracts instead of carriers. Whenever I catch a pokemon, I let it right back out and let it stay out unless its an emergency. I can't even remember the last time Vulpix went in her own."

Ash nodded his understanding. _'Huh. Maybe I should try that too."_

"Not to copy you or anything, but do you think I could try it too?"

"You don't have to ask me, they're your pokemon but I think it would be a good idea." She smiled and looked up at the ceiling. "Just imagine the looks we'll get when we have twelve pokemon walking around with us wherever we go."

Together, the two of them laughed. "That might cause a bit of trouble, huh?" He asked.

"Well, lets cross that bridge when we get there. Hey, look! Gary's back with Totodile."

Gary walked towards them while tossing one pokeball up and down in his hand. When he got close enough, he handed it off to Ash. "There you go, one totodile, safe and sound."

"Thanks Gary." Ash pushed down on Totodile's pokeball and let the pokemon out, then tucked the pokeball away wondering when the next time he needed to use it would be.

"Now that we have that settled, we should get going. That way we should be able to reach Viridian city by tomorrow."

"Hold on Ash." Sierra interrupted. "We're here to learn more about Kanto, not rush through it. As long as I get back home in a year or so, give or take a few months, it doesn't matter how long it takes us. Lets just relax a while, okay? Who knows. Maybe if you slow down, you'll meet more trainers and see more things that you missed before."

"You're right. I guess I've just never gone slow before, seeing as I've been told I rush into things a lot." He turned to Professor Oak. "Thanks again professor, you can expect a call from us soon." Final goodbyes were exchanged and then Ash and Sierra were out on the road, ready to begin their next adventure.

* * *

They stopped a few miles out town, and Totodile seemed the most tired out of all of them (if Cubone had actually _walked _like the other pokemon instead of being carried, it would probably be him.)

Ash frowned. "Wow Totadile, you're really out of shape, huh buddy?"

"Don't worry, he'll toughen up soon, you'll see. Same to you Cubone." Sierra said while eating bits of her sandwich. Delia had given her enough food to last for the next 3-4 days.

"Cu-Cubone!" The pokemon exclaimed, clinging to her. She tapped his skull lightly.

"Come on now, I can't carry you the entire time."

When Ash had finished eating, he laid back onto the grass. "I wish Misty had been more like that."

"Who's Misty?"

The boy looked up at the sky, a faint smile on his face. "A friend of mine. She was my first traveling partner along with my friend Brock. They're both gym leaders here, so you'll get a chance to meet them later. Anyway, she used to have this Togepi that she hatched from an egg and she carried it _everywhere._ It almost never left her arms or her backpack unless it was to eat or play, and if was for any other reason, she panicked."

Sierra giggled. "Don't worry, we won't let Cubone get like that now will we? If he wants to grow up strong then he'll have to learn to use his own muscles."

Cubone cried out in protest and jumped off her lap onto the ground. He did a pose for her, flexing his muscles to show of his 'strength.'

Totodile, Pikachu and Vulpix were all playing tag. It seemed like Totodile was 'it' at the moment as he was lunging at Vulpix who kept jumping over him and laughing every time he tried to tag her. "Why don't you go play with them?" Sierra suggested to her Cubone. The pokemon agreed and ran over to play, but instantly got tagged by Totodile.

"I wasn't so sure about it at first, but this seems like a good idea, you know, keeping all the pokemon out." Ash mused as he watched the pokemon out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah. I know it seems weird at first, but pokemon belong out in the natural world with us. Don't get me wrong, not all pokemon hate pokeballs, but I think its good for them to live beside us and continue to survive the way they were naturally structured to. Besides, they get stronger this way. Totodile will be in tip-top shape before you know it."

"Seems like it." Ash agreed. The two fell into a comfortable silence. Ash was staring up at the clouds with is hat tipped to shade his eyes from the sun and Sierra was leaning against a log beside him holding onto one bent knee and watching the pokemon play.

About twenty minutes later, Ash got up and stretched. "Hey Sierra, what would you say to a practice battle? It's been a while, and I'd love to see what you can do."

Sierra pondered on it for a moment. It was probably a good idea. If she wanted to fight all the gyms then she would have to battle and train to do it. "Sure, why not? I'll just have to check over Cubone's moves first."

"Great! I'll call the pokemon over while you do that and let them know what's going on."

"Thanks." Sierra pulled the pokedex out of one of her pockets and opened it. So far, she had four entries. Vulpix, (It was a Kanto pokemon after all, even if it lived in Sinnoh) Pikachu, Cubone and Totodile. Ash had offered to let her scan his other pokemon but she refused. If she did that, she felt like she would be cheating somehow. He had respected her decision but he still seemed a bit skeptical about it.

She found the entry on her own Cubone and clicked it.

_Known Moves: Growl, tackle, Bone Club. _

"Alright, I can work with that. Hey Cubone! Are you ready for your first battle?"

The pokemon nodded rapidly and ran to stand beside his trainer. Ash stood a few yards away with Totodile in front of him, deciding not to wait and use him later for type advantage over Vulpix.

"Okay Ash, this is just a spar so we'll fight until one of us calls it, no need to KO the pokemon right now. You can go first."

"Agreed. Here we go! Totodile, use Water Gun!" The totodile complied and it's cheeks began to fill with water.

"Cubone, run towards it." The pokemon was confused but didn't argue as it charged forward.

Totodile's mouth opened, lined up for a straight shot at Cubone. The pressurized water began to shoot out.

"Now jump over the water and use Growl!"

Cubone leaped up into the air, dodging the shot of water and flying over Totodile's head. When it was right above it, it used growl and Totodile stopped what it was doing to cover its ears.

"As soon as you land use Bone Club!"

"Oh no you don't! Block it with Scratch!"

Cubone landed, his feet digging into the ground. He spun around aiming for Totodile with the his bone, but Totodile was ready. The pokemon's fingers were longer and glowing as it brought them up against the bone, knocking it out of the way.

"Cubone, let go of the bone and use tackle now!"

Cubone let go of the bone and without that force, the momentum of Totodile's arm forced it to continue up through the air. With that opening, the ground pokemon pushed off the dirt and charged forward, his body weight hitting Totodile full force and knocking him to the ground.

Ash grit his teeth. "Totodile, get up and use water gun again!"

"Dodge!"

Totodile was up faster then Cubone could blink and suddenly a large amount of water was coming straight for him, to fast to dodge. The water made impact sending him flying back a few feet. It had hurt a bit, but using his bone (collected after the successful tackle) he was able to get back up and support his weight.

"Okay Totodile, that's enough."

"You too Cubone, good job, I'm very proud."

Cubone felt delighted. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins and it felt _really good._ He definitely wanted to battle a lot more now. Sierra patted him on the head when he was back by her side, and that made her feel even better.

"Vulpix, you're up!"

"You too Pikachu!"

"Pi-Pika"

"Vulpix-Vul!"

"Do you want to go first this time?"

"Don't mind if I do. Vulpix, Ember!"

The fox pokemon's mouth opened and several embers rapidly shot up out its mouth, forcing Pikachu to use quick attack in order to dodge.

Ash was shocked. He'd never seen such a rapid and strong ember. A smirk crossed his face and he reached up for his hat, turning it backwards with a grin. "Now that's more like it! Pikachu, thunderbolt!"

"Vulpix, wait and roll."

Vulpix stood rigid, waiting for the attack as Pikachu's body glowed with electricity. Then, it released rapidly in the air and headed straight for her. At the last moment, she rolled out of the way safely avoiding the attack. "Now use quick attack."

As soon as she was up, Vulpix was rushing forward at an incredible speed. Both trainers and pokemon could feel the adrenaline coursing through their bodies now. "Pikachu, you use quick attack as well!"

The battlefield became a race track. The two pokemon were running side by side all over the area doing there best to land attacks. Pikachu tried to ram Vulpix in the side but she jumped and flipped over him then rammed him on his other side.

"Way to go Vulpix! Use Ember now!"

"Deflect it with Iron Tail!"

Embers were fired at Pikachu but each one that came to close was sent flying away by the force of iron tail. The area was quickly filled with smoke.

"Time to end this! Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"

"Vulpix charge with quick attack!"

Vulpix mouth began to glow and all of a sudden it was filled with fire. She charged forward to meet Pikachu who's body was covered in electricity as they ran in a collision corse. Half way through, she jumped up and began to spin.

"That's Flame Wheel!" Sierra gasped. The two pokemon met head on, clouding the area in even more smoke. Sierra slapped the goggles over her face and lifted her shirt to cover her mouth as she waited for it to pass.

Vulpix and Pikachu were both still standing. Pikachu had a few small burns on his body and Vulpix still had a bit of static on her own with many more visible bruises. It was obvious that Vulpix had taken more damage, but that was to be expected. After all, Pikachu had been battling for years and fought in dozens of gyms while Vulpix only had a few small battles back home at the daycare.

"I'll call it here." Sierra announced. "Great job as always Vulpix. Come here and I'll give you a potion for the damage."

Vulpix mewled and limped over to where Sierra was waiting with Cubone, and Ash and his pokemon went over to join them as well.

"I'm impressed. You're a pretty good trainer Sierra. I'm sure you'll get all the badges easy." The boy complimented. Sierra blushed lightly.

"Thanks. It's actually been a while since we battled. I'm happy that Cubone is such a good fighter, and Vulpix even learned flame wheel!" She stated happily, spraying Vulpix's wound with the potion. She flinched slightly and then began to feel much better.

"Could have fooled me. And where to Vulpix learn an ember like that? I've never seen one so powerful before."

"Years of training, thats for sure."

* * *

After spending the next hour or so talking about the battle, Sierra and Ash were all packed up and ready to go.

"So where to now? Are we heading on to Viridian city?" Ash asked. Sierra shook her head.

"Lets explore around a bit more. We could go that way." The girl answered, pointing into the forrest. "We just have to mark the trees so we don't get lost."

"Okay. Lead the way." He agreed. This was nice, he thought as Sierra lead them through the area. Since Totodile was still a bit tired, he was carrying him while Pikachu and Vulpix walked ahead with Cubone who was practically running, still on an Adrenaline high. It was relaxing to not have the pressure of training for a gym battle or rushing to the next contest or worrying about getting lost or to far from the path. The whole point _was _to stray away from the path and just explore what they would have missed, what he _had_ missed before.

"Hey Ash, look at this!" Sierra called. He followed her over to a small stream flowing steadily through the woods.

"I remember this stream. When I was younger my mom would bring Gary and I over here sometimes to play and see all the different pokemon. That was before I got Pikachu and started my journey though."

"Speaking of Pokemon, look at that." Sierra whispered. She took out her Pokedex and pointed it at a tree. A little caterpie was dangling from a branch with its eyes closed.

_"Caterpie, the Worm Pokemon. Caterpie uses the suction cups on its feet to climb trees and feed on its favorite leaves."_

"Awesome, and theres another one over there too." Ash whispered, pointing at another tree.

"Where? I can't find it."

"Here." Ash whispered. He grabbed her outstretched arm holding the pokedex and guided it a bit to the right and towards the ground. Both trainers blushed slightly at the contact. When Ash stopped, Sierra hit the button. Now that he'd showed her where it was, the girl easily spotted the pokemon he was referring too.

"_Oddish, the Weed Pokemon. This Pokemon is typically found roaming the forest, scattering pollen as it walks around."_

Satisfied, Sierra clicked the pokedex shut and slipped it back into her pocket. "I guess that makes six." She smiled, crouching down to run her fingers through the stream. Totodile wasted no time jumping in, creating a loud splash as he did so. The Caterpie's eyes snapped open and it quickly retreated into the tree.

Everyone laughed good naturedly except for Vulpix who was shaking her fur angrily which went unnoticed by Totodile as he floated on his back.

* * *

The group had walked another couple miles or so before they set up camp for the night. Sierra had heated up the soup Delia packed so they ate well and until they were full. Since it was such a starry and warm night, Ash and Sierra had decided on sleeping outside and set their sleeping bags next to each other (but still at a respectable distance.)

Sierra switched on her flashlight and held it with one hand as she used the other to write in her opened journal.

_August 4, Summer_

_These past 24 hours have been some of the strangest ones I've ever had. It started off when Vulpix and I finally reached Professor Oaks lab. He was a kind old man and very patient too. On the way to get my pokedex he let us go outside and explore the pokemon pen he had to hold all the pokemon he was watching for trainers who didn't have enough room to bring them along. At first, they didn't like us but then a Cubone approached and once it accepted Vulpix and I, the other Pokemon did too. A boy named Ash introduced himself to me there and I found out that he's just a couple months older then I am. He went with the professor and I as he gave me my pokedex which I got to customize myself. After that, Ash offered to let me stay at his house and his mom cooked us dinner. The food was amazing. I got to see all of Ash's different badges and there were so many of them it's unbelievable! Apparently, he'd been taking a while off after traveling to so many different places overseas, and he convinced me to challenge all the gyms here as well. This morning after breakfast, I was all set to go but then Ash suddenly asked if he could come with me, and I agreed. He's going to be a sort of mentor and guide, I guess, and he's also going to explore Kanto with me and hopefully see a lot of things he missed the first time around. Oh, I almost forgot! Yesterday when we went to leave we found that Cubone had come inside looking for me and the professor let me keep him so we had to go and get his Pokeball from the lab before we left. That's when I met his grandson, Gary. It doesn't seem like he and Ash get along well, but I think deep down they care about each other greatly. Ash decided that every time I catch my own pokemon he'll collect one of his from Professor Oak and we're both going to keep all of our pokemon out of their pokeballs. Once all of that was settled, we hit the road. We stopped to rest a few hours later and sparred together in a mock pokemon battle. I'm pretty sure he won, but I found out that Cubone's a really good fighter and Vulpix learned flame wheel, so I guess I won too. We also found a stream and I got to scan a caterpie and an oddish into my pokedex so that makes six total. I now have data on Pikachu (Ash's), Vulpix (mine), Cubone (mine), Totodile (Ash's), Caterpie (wild) and Oddish (wild), and I can't wait to find out which ones next! _

Satisfied with what she had written, Sierra snapped the notebook shut and placed it back into her bag. Ash rolled over in his sleeping bag to face her.

"What were you writing just now?" He wondered aloud.

"A journal entry. I'm writing down everything that happens so that when I get home, Zach can read all of it and it'll be like he's experiencing it here with us. At the rate I'm writing though, he'll probably have a novel to read when its finished." She explained. Ash yawned.

"Sounds like fun."

Sierra giggled softly and laid back onto her sleeping bag in the same position she had the night before, Cubone snuggled into her chest and Vulpix laid beside her head.

"Good night Ash." She whispered.

"Night Era." He mumbled back.

Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, Sierra fell asleep, and she completely missed the nickname Ash had given her. Good thing she wouldn't miss it tomorrow. She'd be hearing it a lot from now on.

_A/N: Aww, Ash is getting a little touchy-feely hmm? I thought it was cute when he showed her where the Oddish was, didn't you? (If you did, review about it!) Just so you know, everything I write is just a spur-of-the-moment thing and few of the plot points are actually planned. This story is writing itself and I'm just typing it. Also, do you guys like the nick-name Era? there wasn't much to work with from Sierra (no offense Sierras) and I actually kind of like it. If you have any better ones, let me know and I'll make sure their give to her by other characters. Also, if you go to my profile page I've put up a link for Sierra's character, so you should check that out too. Hope to see you all soon! (unless the next chapter is up and your clicking the _**_next _**_button. Then, umm, see you in a second I guess.) _


	3. Guess who's back, back again!

**CHAPTER 3~ GUESS WHO'S BACK? BACK AGAIN! **

Two days later, they were up early once again thank's to Ash's new alarm clock that he'd gotten from his mother. (It went off loudly until you shut it off and repeated the process every two minutes until it had been shut off five times. Flawless.)

Sierra forced herself to stand up and stretch but almost fell over in the process since she was still half asleep. "G-Good morning everyone." She greeted, wincing when there was a pop in her back. Ash turned the alarm clock off for the final time and rubbed his eyes. "Mm Good morning. What's for breakfast?"

"I um, I think we'll have the last of your moms soup." Sierra yawned. "And then when we get to Viridian city sometime early this afternoon we can restock."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

They were on the road again later that day, playing eye spy as they went.

"Hmm. Okay, I spy with my little eye, something yellow." Sierra said.

"Is it the sun?" Ash guessed.

"No."

"The symbol on my hat?"

"No."

"Pikachu?"

"Nope." She answered, popping the p.

"Then what is it?"

"The dandelions over there, see?" Sierra smiled, pointing to a small patch. Ash hung his head.

"Eye spy sucks." He decided.

"No, you suck at eye spy."

"Same thing."

"No it isn't."

"Pi-Pika!" Pikachu agreed from on top of Ash's head. The teen frowned.

"Pikachu! Who's team are you on?" Sierra and the pokemon laughed. Pikachu climbed off of Ash and ran around his feet taunting the trainer as he tried to catch him. Up ahead, Sierra could see buildings peaking over the horizon.

"Ash, look! It's Viridian city!" She yelled, pointing to the buildings. Ash stopped messing around with Pikachu to take a look himself. Once we saw the city line, he grinned. Cities equaled people and people equaled economy and as far as we was concerned, economy equaled food. "Let's get going then, I'm starting to get hungry for lunch." As if to prove his point, his stomach let out a growl.

"Oh, hold on a second!" Sierra whispered, inching towards a patch of tall grass. She got out her pokedex and signaled for Cubone to wait with Ash as she and Vulpix got a closer look. They saw the tips of yellow ears and the shape of a body. It was definitely a pokemon.

"Just a little closer." She mumbled, inching forward. The pokemon twitched and she held her breath. When it didn't move again, she hit the button.

_Abra, the Psi pokemon. When Abra senses an imminent attack, it escapes by teleporting. _

The Abra let out a cry and it's eyes snapped open. It's whole body glowed white suddenly and then it was gone.

Sierra smiled as she walked back towards Ash. "I got it!" She exclaimed.

"Got what Era?"

"An Abra! Look, see?" She held out the pokedex for Ash to take a look at. He grabbed it from her hand so he could read the information better. Sierra blinked. "Wait a sec, did you just call me Era?"

"Hmm. Oh, yeah, thats my new nick name for you. What'd you think?" He asked as he handed the pokedex back. She tucked the device into her pocket once again and smiled.

"I like it, I've never heard that one before. I'd give you a nick name, but their isn't that much you can do with Ash if you know what I mean." She chuckled.

"Yeah. So, can we go get food now?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Yes, we can go get food."

Then lets go!" Ash yelled. Sierra groaned, but raced off after him as he'd already taken off running towards the city with Totodile and Pikachu right on his heels. Maybe he hadn't quite grasped the concept of waiting and being patient yet.

* * *

"Aww man, I'm stuffed!" Ash moaned, leaning back in his chair. Pikachu and Totodile cried out there agreement and all three were holding their bloated stomachs. Sierra was still only half way done and alternating between feeding herself, Cubone and Vulpix the bits of food she had cut into smaller pieces.

"I'm not surprised. What would be surprising is if you still looked like that in an hour. I mean, seriously? All you do is walk around and then *poof!* all the food is gone along with your stomach."

He shrugged. "I must have a high metabolism then."

"Sure, that must be it." Sierra agreed with sarcasm laced through her voice. Vulpix nudged her lightly.

"Vulpix~" She groaned, but the pokemon wouldn't have it. It gave her a stern look she she turned to Ash and slightly bowed her head. "Sorry Ash, that was rude."

He sweat dropped. "N-no, don't worry about it."

"I will when Vulpix threatens to- OWW!" She yelped when Vulpix chomped lightly on her wrist. Cubone chuckled on her lap as she glared at the fox pokemon, who turned away from her with a 'humph.'

Ash bit his lip to keep from laughing. It reminded him a bit of Brock and his pokemon when they would hit him and dragging him away for trying to hit on a girl (namely Nurse Joy.)

"HEY GET BACK HERE! THAT'S MY VENONAT, YOU CAN'T JUST TAKE IT LIKE THAT!" They heard a little girl scream. Instantly, the two trainers jumped out of their chais and rushed out the door. (Sierra had already left the appropriate amount of money on the table.)

They found people stopping on the sidewalk and looking either sadly or horrified at the middle of the road where a little girl was on her knee's crying. She wore a light blue shirt and long flowing white skirt with little pink Mary Janes. She had blonde hair tied into low pigtails and was furiously rubbing at her tear filled eyes. Sierra glared at the bystanders. _ Why isn't anyone doing anything? _

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sierra whispered, crouching down in front of the girl. Vulpix licked her face making her giggle slightly and Ash stood behind them watching.

"M-my Venonat, th-they took it!" She sobbed.

"Who?"

"Th-they were tall an' they were wearin' all black w-with funny poofy hats on' their heads an' red R's on their chests."

Ash felt his blood run cold. That sounded like team Rocket, and not just Jesse, James and Meowth, but the actual organization. If they were stealing pokemon again, then their journey just became a lot more than a leisurely stroll through Kanto. He clenched his fists. If Team Rocket was back, then he'd take them down no matter what. His eyes glanced at Sierra. _Even if I have to leave her to do it._

As soon as the thought came, he dispelled it. Sierra was Sierra, and he had no doubt that she would want to take down Team Rocket as well. He just hoped it wouldn't ruin her schedule to get back to her brother.

Sierra stood up. "Which way did they go?"

"That way." The little girl whispered, pointing to the south.

"And what's your name?"

"Gina."

Sierra slung an arm around Ash's shoulders and pointed to herself and Ash. "Well then Gina, I promise you that this guy and I are going to get Venonat back no matter what!"

"Right!" Ash agreed, and their pokemon cheered as well.

* * *

Right away, Ash, Sierra and the pokemon had taken off in the direction that the little girl had pointed to. They'd asked several people if they saw anything, and had gathered that the two thieves were indeed members of Team Rocket. As they moved, Ash gave Sierra a quick summery about everything he knew of Team Rocket, and she agreed that they had to be stopped.

In his head, he could see Dawn smiling at him. _'See Ash? No need to worry!' _

Eventually, they found that the Team Rocket grunts had disappeared into an ally that seemed to be a dead end. They were currently searching it, trying to figure out which way Team Rocket could have gone. The pokemon were sniffing the ground, but without a distinct scent to identify the perps it was almost useless. Sierra felt herself slowing down the longer it took her to search until she was standing still. When Ash turned to look at her, she was beginning to crouch down on the ground.

"No no no no no! Sierra, don't do that!"

To late. She had already formed a tight human ball. "I'm useless. I promised that girl that I would help her and I can't even find out where Team Rocket went. What if we have to fight them and I make us lose? I'm not strong enough to fight when I can't even find a single pokemon." She mumbled.

"The only way that's going to be true is if you keep sitting there! Come on Sierra, you have to get up!"

Vulpix was in front of her licking her knees and Cubone was tugging on her shirt but none of it was helping.

"Sierra, please get up already." Ash groaned. He tried to lift her up by her arms and even that didn't help.

Angry, Ash turned and kicked the closest thing that wasn't breathing, which happened to be an empty tin can. His foot slammed into it full force, hoping to send it flying.

Except it didn't.

The can was attached to some sort of string in the ground which must of been a switch because when the can went in the air, the ground beneath them disappeared and suddenly the six of them were free falling.

"AHHH!"

The trapdoors closed. The ally was once more abandoned and the can was back in its original place.

* * *

Ash groaned and rubbed his head. He felt like there was some sort of weight on his chest, but he didn't have the energy to open his eyes and figure out what. Instead, he made a mental check list to make sure that nothing was broken.

Arms, check. Legs, check. Head, check. Hat, check. Good, he was all set.

His eyes cracked open and the first thing saw was a pair of red goggles. Red goggles... red goggles...

"Sierra?" He whispered. "Era, are you alright?"

A blush covered his face when he realized that his arms were wrapped around her (probably to shield her from damage during the fall) and were holding her firmly to his chest. Better still, Pikachu and the other pokemon were already up and smirking at them besides Cubone who was just worried and confused. The girl groaned and shifted, waking up. She blinked a few times before fully opening her eyes, then looked up where she found that her face was only inches away from Ash's.

"Oh, h-hey Ash. What happened?"

"We fell." He gulped, trying not to stutter. "Umm, do you think you could get off of me so we can have a look around?"

Sierra blinked again and then looked down, finally realizing where she was. Her face heated up and she quickly rolled off of him, figuring that was the best way to do it without getting him hurt anymore then he already was.

"Sorry." She apologized, and pushed herself up off the ground. She offered him a hand which he took and then she helped him up as well. Vulpix and Cubone worked together to drag her travel bag over to her and she pat them lightly in thanks while checking them over for injury. Once they were deemed unharmed, she decided to take a look around.

They were in some kind of storage room. A small source of light poured in from a high up window, meaning they were indeed underground. Around the area were a few different crates and barrels, but that seemed to be about it and all she could see without a flashlight. Almost as if hearing her prayers, light turned on in the room which was caused by Ash who had found a light switch.

The lights weren't the only thing that had turned on. On either side of the room were what looked to be giant teleporting tubes. Both were in the shape of a cylinder and had lit up surfaces, the one to the left side of the room green and the one on the right yellow.

Suddenly, Sierra heard the sound of footsteps. She and Ash made eye contact and they both knew instantly that the other had heard them too.

"Hide!" Sierra hissed while she switched off the light. Vulpix ran over to a knocked over barrel and climbed inside, Pikachu tucked himself between that barrel and the wall, Cubone pressed himself behind a crate in a corner and Totodile slipped inside a large tire leaning against the far wall. (Why the hell did they need a tire anyway?)

As for Ash and Sierra, there only option was a large crate that had been laid on its side. They sprinted over to it and Ash lifted one side open allowing Sierra to crawl in first, then followed right behind her. Once they were both inside he let it close them in. Luckily, there was a small peephole for him to look through and unluckily, they were smushed.

Sierra was curled up in a ball pressed against the back wall of the crate. Ash's foot dug into her thigh when he shifted positions so he could see out the peephole but she didn't make a sound as to not give their position away. Instead, the girl bit her lip and sucked it up. She wasn't necessarily afraid of dark cramped spaces, but it wasn't comfortable. She placed her hand over her mouth to muffle her breathing and Ash did the same as he peaked out.

"Ven Ven!"

"Ash, what is that?" Sierra whispered. Instead of answering, the boy pushed the crate back open and began to crawl out without so much as giving her a backwards glance. She felt like screaming at him but she was still to afraid to do so, so instead she followed behind but didn't leave the shelter.

"Era, come on out, it's safe." Ash laughed, and she heard the cries of the pokemon encouraging her as well.

"Okay, but if something bad happens I'll kill you." She answered. He laughed good naturedly but opened it anyway to let her out.

When she crawled out, she was shocked. The first thing she saw was Cubone standing on Totodile's shoulders and Pikachu on Cubone's so he could reach the light switch and turn the power back on, which he successfully did. Then she noticed Ash standing in front of her with a Venonat in his arms and a goofy grin on his face. Vulpix nuzzled against her head and mewled with happiness.

"Oh thank God, that's the girl's Venonat, right?"

"Sure is!"

"Ven Ven!"

"What a miracle." Sierra wailed happily as she got up off the ground.

"We still don't know how to get out though." Ash informed. Her head hung low and her muscles stiffened.

"BUT we could try those weird things over there!" He added quickly, pointing to each of the transporter things before Sierra could curl up in a ball on the ground. Her body relaxed.

"Okay, yeah, sounds like a plan. Which one though?"

"Lets try green."

Despite Ash's protests, Sierra managed to convince him to stay with the pokemon while she and Vulpix went through the transporter. (I'm smaller and faster then you, so it makes more sense I go.) He watched as she stepped onto it and waved, then pressed a little button on the inside.

Her entire body was sucked inside and her vision was blur. She felt like her entire being was getting pulled apart and her only comfort was that Vulpix was still in her arms. A few moments later, it all stopped and she landed on her butt. Hard.

"Oww." The girl moaned while rubbing her back with her eyes closed. The room she was inside was complete silent. She cracked on eye to check it out.

The room was full of desks with several computers, and each desk had a Team Rocket member at it who had stopped mid type to see who had come through. Sierra eye's all but popped out of their sockets.

The thing that got her though was a giant mural on the wall. It didn't have the Team Rocket symbol that the uniforms had but a different one instead. It looked like a circle that had been ripped in two, one half red and the other half blue with a white sphere in the middle that resembled a broken pokeball. On the red section was a large blue P and in the blue section a red H. Large wording over it read PHANTOM.

_'Wait a second, why is that symbol here if this is Team Rocket? Unless, what if this isn't-! '_

One of the grunts finally stood up. "Hey, you! What do you think you're doing here?" The man yelled. Sierra and Vulpix shook.

"Um, leaving?"

"Oh no you don't, get her!" All at once, the grunts got up and charged towards her. Sierra yelped and ran back inside the transporter, slamming her fist on the button.

She felt dizzy when she came out back in the warehouse room with Ash, but there was no time to waist.

"Hey Sierra! What are you-"

"No time Ash, run!" She screamed. She pushed him onto the yellow transporter and in doing so he knocked into the button. Instantly, himself, Pikachu, Totodile and Venonat were transported. The machine let out a flash at the same time the green on did. Ash was gone, but two of the grunts had just entered the room letting out a pidgey and a rattata with reluctant looks on their faces.

"Vulpix, use Ember!" Sierra called before the grunts could get out a command.

The fire pokemon opened its mouth letting out a stream of powerful compressed embers. Sierra used this escape to get herself and Cubone onto the transporter. She whistled and Vulpix stopped, turned, and jumped into her arms. As soon as everyone was set, Cubone used its bone to smack the button.

A few moments later, they appeared back in the abandoned ally they had first come down. Ash rushed over with a relieved look on his face.

"Era, you okay? What happened?"

"No time." She gasped, getting back up. "They're right behind us, we gotta move."

The two trainers took off down the ally once again until they were back on the main road gasping for breath. Ash had checked several times to make sure that Team Rocket hadn't followed them back and found that the coast was clear.

"Venonat!" A girl called.

Venonat jumped out of Ash's arms and hopped all the way over to a little blonde haired girl who was crying with joy. As soon as it reached her she wrapped her arms around it in a tight hug and it nuzzled against her in return.

"We did it." Sierra sighed, leaning against a brick wall. "We actually did it."

* * *

As soon as everyone was safe, Ash demanded that Sierra fill him in on everything that he had missed when she went through the green transporter. She agreed warily and they went to the docks that Sierra had walked on when she first arrived for privacy and sat down, their feet dangling over the edge. Totodile was swimming happily through the water and Cubone was leaning against Sierra napping while Pikachu and Vulpix played together.

"And that's everything." She concluded, finishing her summery. "That symbol though... What did you say Team Rocket's goal was again?"

"Steal Pokemon for profit. Exploit Pokemon for profit. All Pokemon exist for the glory of Team Rocket." He recited while clenching his jaw.

"Exactly. That's the thing that I'm not getting. Their symbol, it was a broken pokeball, and when they used their pokemon they looked so reluctant. Not because they were attacking me though, but I think its because they were using pokemon in the first place!"

"Era, what are you getting at?"

"I remember now! The symbol, over the symbol it said PHANTOM. Ash, Team Rocket has no problem using and selling pokemon, but these people seemed reluctant, almost disgusted to use them. I- I don't think that they're Team Rocket at all!"

"What?! Then who are they?"

"I don't know. My guess would be PHANTOM, and I don't think their goal is to use pokemon like Team Rocket. Maybe it's to-"

"Free them." He finished. His fist tightened. "They're trying to ruin the partnership between pokemon and humans. That's why they took that girls Venonat, they were trying to separate her from it. They're trying to separate the human world from the pokemon world, which explains the broken pokeball and why Venonat was abandoned."

Sierra let out a sigh and leaned back. "Its not set in stone, but I can't help but agree. If this, PHANTOM or whatever decides to ruin the bond between pokemon and humans and do it as Team Rocket, than we're in huge trouble, especially if they up their game. This time it was just a little girls Venonat, but what happens if it becomes more serious?"

Ash mentally sighed. Things like this were never going to stop, were they? There were always going to be bad people in the world, he knew that, but if there were bad people, then there were good people too. Not to brag, but he knew he was one of those good people, and if bad things were escalating then he felt in his heart it was his job to help stop it. He glanced over at Sierra. Stopping them would be different then any other enemy he had faced, and he would have start all over again. They didn't like using pokemon, which meant they must have fought with something else. He also didn't know to what extent PHANTOM would go in order to accomplish their goal. Would they be better than Team Rocket or worse? As soon as he saw people in the Team Rocket uniform, he vowed to stop them, but was that really fair to Sierra? To make her stop and battle an evil that they knew nothing about, ask her to defend the bond between humans in pokemon when all she wanted to do was get back to her brother? He had no doubt that if he asked her to help him, she would say yes. She was too good a person to say no, but how much would that delay her? What if she or one of her pokemon got hurt? What if-"

"Ash." She whispered. "We have to stop them."

"But what about your brother?"

"If there's one thing I know about my brother, it's that he loves pokemon more than anything in the world after his family. If he were here, then he would want to stop PHANTOM too. I know I'm just beginning and I'm not that strong yet, but I can see it in your eyes that you're going to try and stop them no matter what. So please, let me help."

"Sierra-"

She held up a hand. "This is my proposition to you. PHANTOM isn't that strong yet from what I can tell, so we still have time to prepare. Lets keep on traveling through Kanto and I'll continue to work on my pokedex and taking on the gyms so I can become a stronger trainer. Then, whenever and wherever we see PHANTOM we'll stop what we're doing to shut them down because that's much more important then my own insignificant pokemon journey. It might take longer, but It'll be worth it."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"And you're not. I'm telling you that's what happening. You can leave if you want and try to take them on by yourself, but if I see them I'm still going to fight against whatever scheme they're trying to pull. Since this is the case, wouldn't it make more sense that we stick together?"

He smiled. "Yeah, I guess so. We'll just have to be really careful, you know? And don't think for a second that I'm leaving 'cause I promised you that we'd stick together when I asked to travel with you and I meant it. We're friends Sierra, we don't just abandon each other."

Ash didn't look at her as he talked, but he did feel a weight on his shoulder and see a head of brownish red hairr out of the corner of his eyes. Sierra had scooted closer to him and put her head on his shoulder. Both felt that with this new resolve that the bond between themselves and their pokemon had grown stronger. They didn't know what was going to happen later on down the road, but as they sat together on the docks gazing up at the night sky, they made a silent pact to have each others backs no matter what.

* * *

Sierra woke up early the next day and quickly shut off the alarm clock so Ash could sleep in. They had stayed in a room in the pokemon center for the night. Light streaked through the crack in the curtains of the window creating a gentle atmosphere. Vulpix was snuggled up in the corner of the bed next to her pillow and Cubone was next to it covered with the blanket Sierra had placed on him. On the other bed, Ash was snoring quietly. Totodile was sprawled out on the end of the bed also snoring quietly and Pikachu was passed out sitting against the wall (on the bed of course.)

Sierra was looking through her pokedex and web surfing on a laptop that came provided with the room. She was researching pokemon battling strategies and had even tried to do some research on PHANTOM but came up with nothing besides the definition of the word in a dictionary and ghost stories.

Online (after plugging headphones in) She decided to watch some battles to gain experience and strategies.

A smile tugged on her lips. She remembered when she used to do this with her brother and friends back home all the time.

_*Flashback* _

_Sierra was playing with her best friend Nicole and Vulpix out in her backyard. Sierra looked to be about 8 or 9 with long brownish red hair and large baby blue doe eyes. She wore a pokeball clip to keep her bangs back and a short sleeved red shirt with a beige skirt and flip flops. Nicole had wavy magenta hair and was wearing a little blue dress with a red vest, white leggings and blue flip flops. Her hair was tied into twin pigtails framing her face and deep blue eyes. _

_A boy leaned out a window on the second floor. He had neatly trimmed dark blue hair, brown eyes and wore a white teeshirt with a black outlined pokemon on it. _

_"Sierra, Nicole, come on! We got the video loaded!" _

_"Coming Johnny!" Sierra laughed. She scooped up Vulpix in her arms and raced Nicole into the house all the way up to the bedroom where Zach and her brother were sitting on the bed waiting for them with a laptop on Zach's lap. They rushed over and sat down, Sierra next to her brother and Nicole next to Johnny. (Vulpix was on Sierra's lap.) _

_They watched excitedly at a video from the last pokemon league battles. Sierra and Nicole were rooting for the girl on the red side fighting with a Lopunny while Zach and Johnny rooted for the guy on the blue side with a Dragonair. _

_'Dragonair, use Water Gun!' The man yelled. _

_'Not so fast! Lopunny, freeze it with Ice Beam!' _

_They watched in awe when the Water Gun was frozen creating an ark of ice. The girl then ordered her Lopunny to use quick attack and slide on the ice and once she got close enough to Dragonair to use Dizzy Punch. _

_Just when they seemed to have it, the man ordered is Dragonair to use Hyper Beam at close range. _

_Sierra and Nicole held there breaths and Zach and Johnny cheered. Smoke filled the arena and when it cleared, Lopunny was found on the ground knocked out. _

_'Lopunny!' The female called in distress. The male trainer cheered and rushed over to celebrate with his Dragonair. Zach closed the laptop. _

_"And that's why Kanto pokemon are the best!" He declared. _

_"Nuh-uh! Sinnoh pokemon are just as great!" Nicole argued. _

_"Yeah!" Sierra agreed. _

_"If they're so great then why did Dragonair beat Lopunny?" Johnny challenged. _

_"Obviously because it was stronger." _

_"HA-"_

_"But that doesn't mean it was stronger because it came from Kanto!" Sierra continued. "It's because it was well trained and taken care of!" _

_"Yeah but Vulpix is a Kanto pokemon and you think she's the best." Zach pointed out. Vulpix licked his face to show her agreement causing the boy to laugh. _

_"That's not because she's Kanto. She's the best pokemon out of all of them!" Sierra decided, hugging Vulpix. _

_"Well I've decided that I'm definitely going to Kanto so I can catch all the strongest pokemon!" Her brother grinned. _

_"Which one of them there is your favorite?" Johnny asked. _

_Zach tapped his chin. "Well, I really love Vulpix but I think I would want a boy Nidoran. I think poison, ghost and physic types are the best. What about you?" _

_"Me?" Jonny asked. They all nodded at him and he shrugged. "Personally I think all pokemon are great. I'll catch the ones I think are beneficial when I meet them, that's all." _

_"Oh come on!" Nicole whined. "If you had to pick, which type is the best?" _

_"Umm... I guess fighting types are pretty cool." _

_"Well I think electric types are the best! Them and grass types." _

_Sierra was confused. "Isn't that a bit conflicting?" _

_"But that what makes it cool and original, don't you think?" _

_"I guess so. Personally, I really love fire types. I'm definitely going to stick those when I leave." _

_"Vulpix-Vul!" The pokemon on her lap agreed. She laughed and kissed it on the head. _

_"Lets all battle when we get older, okay?" _

**_"Okay~!" _**

* * *

_A/N Wow, that was really hard to write. So, I didn't want to use Team Rocket as my main antagonists because that would seem to easy to me, but I still wanted to included them hence the impostor thing. Don't worry, our three favorite members will still come in a bit later, and wait till they find out! Ash and Sierra are growing closer, but nothing to advanced yet. Also, what did you think about the flashback? You'll definitely be hearing more from Nicole and Johnny later on. _

_Next time: _**_First Rival, the Pink Pokemon Trainer! _**_See you then!_


	4. The Pink Pokemon Trainer?

_A/N: Wow Guys, thanks so much for reading! I don't mean to seem pushy, but I would really appreciate it if someone would review? I really want to know what you think so far and to all of you who've either followed or favorited this story, I love you! _

**_CHAPTER 4~ THE PINK POKEMON TRAINER?_**

Sierra suddenly sat up in her bed breathing heavily. She placed her head in her hands and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. That night she'd fallen asleep fairly quickly and apparently that had come with a nightmare that she couldn't remember.

Her eyes flickered over to the alarm clock on the bedside stand.

_6:17am_

Upon reading the time, she groaned. Part of her just wanted to flop back down on the mattress, snuggle into the blankets and catch an extra few hours of sleep, but she knew already that she wouldn't be able to. Subconsciously, she was still frightened from whatever her nightmare had been and that coursed adrenaline through her body. Basically, she wouldn't be sleeping any time soon.

Ash was still snoring into his pillow on the other side of the room and she felt briefly envious of him, but quickly shook off the feeling. Vulpix had woken up when she stirred and was pawing her thigh. She looked down at the pokemon her looked back up at her with worried eyes. Sierra frowned and pet her head.

"It's okay." She whispered. "It was just a dream and I don't even remember it."

Cubone stirred in his sleep and opened his eyes slightly. Everything was blurry and it was hard to keep his eyes open, but he could definitely make out his trainer and Vulpix. What were they doing? Should he be getting up?

Sierra noticed this and smiled. She scooped up the little pokemon in her arms and carried him over to Ash's bed where she put him back down again and let him snuggle up near Pikachu.

"You just go back to sleep, okay?"

The pokemon happily obliged. The girl looked at her other pokemon who was wide awake next to her and knew that just like herself, there was no point in telling Vulpix to go back to sleep.

"How about we go train, yeah? Just you and me."

Vulpix yipped her agreement. Sierra glanced at Ash once more and felt reassured when he looked like he was deeply asleep and wouldn't wake up. With this knowledge, she changed quickly in the room rather then the public bathrooms just down the hall.

She fixed the goggles on her head and checked a small pocket mirror once more to make sure she looked okay. Satisfied, she grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and quickly scribbled down a message.

_Ash, training with Vulpix out back, come out and bring Cubone when you wake up. ~Sierra_

"Alright Vulpix, lets go."

* * *

It was about an hour later that Cubone ended up outside. He was standing at the door looking around the training fields.

"Cubone!" Sierra called when she spotted him. His eyes zoned in on her and the pokemon smiled, dashing over. Once he got there he jumped into her arms.

"Cu-cubone." She laughed and looked at the door.

"Cubone, where's Ash?"

Cubone pointed to himself grinning. "Cu cu-cubone."

"Did you come here by yourself?" The pokemon nodded proudly. Sierra sighed and placed him on the ground. "I'm happy that I found you but you shouldn't be so reckless, okay? What if something happened? Nobody would know because you're own your own."

The pokemon looked slightly ashamed and no longer proud. She knocked him on the head lightly. "Just don't do it again, okay? Now how about we work on some battle training with Vulpix?"

Both pokemon immediately perked up excitedly. Sierra directed Vulpix to the left side of the field and Cubone to the right, then stood off to the side where a referee would stand.

"Vulpix, use quick attack and Cubone, you try and dodge by jumping over it, okay?"

The pokemon nodded.

Cubone stood rigid, intently watching Vulpix for any kind of movement. Suddenly, the fox pokemon sprang forward. Cubone jumped but got knocked in the leg and toppled forward onto the ground.

"Cubone, are you okay?" Sierra called.

The pokemon grunted and got back up, then turned and smiled at her. She smiled back happily, already feeling proud even if the pokemon hadn't successfully dodged. Cubone faced Vulpix ready to try again.

"Once more Vulpix!"

Vulpix charged forward and once again Cubone jumped but Vulpix just managed to knick his foot which was enough to send him crashing to the ground once again. The ground pokemon clenched his teeth and got back up.

"Cubone, look at Vulpix's legs. At the first sign of movement, jump. Charge again Vulpix."

Vulpix obeyed. Cubone watched her leg and sure enough, he saw it twitch. The moment he did he leapt into the air and was able to avoid the attack.

"Nice job Cubone! You too Vulpix!" Sierra praised. "A little more work and we'll get you dodging without me having to tell you to be ready."

* * *

Ash opened his eyes slowly and tried to burry his head into the pillow once again. He'd already done it and fallen back asleep about 5 times, but what was the harm in one more morning nap?

A shock was suddenly sent through his entire body. He let out a shout as he shot up out of the bed and then landed in a heap on the floor.

"Owwww." He moaned. He glanced around the room until his eyes landed on a very irritated pikachu and a cackling totodile. Pikachu stomped and pointed at the clock.

9:34am.

Ash's eyes widened and he didn't feel that tired anymore. He'd slept in until 9:30?! Sierra had _let _him sleep until 9:30?!

It was then he noticed a note placed under the clock. He rubbed his sore back as he got up and read it.

_Ash, training with Vulpix out back, come out and bring Cubone when you wake up. ~Sierra_

He looked around for Cubone who wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Pikachu, Totodile, have either of you seen Cubone?"

Both shook their heads. "Huh, he must have found Sierra already. Guess we should go find her too, yeah?"

"Pika-pika!" Pikachu agreed. Totodile grabbed Ash's bag up to him so he could change. Once Ash finished that, he went over to the cafe built into the pokemon center to grab breakfast. Sierra wouldn't mind waiting a little longer, right?

His stomach growled. Oh yeah, she wouldn't mind.

* * *

Even Sierra was panting from all the training they'd been doing. After raising Cubone's speed and reaction time, the three of them jogged four laps around the pokemon center and then all of them worked on strength. Vulpix worked on pulling a wheel barrow they had borrowed from the tool shed and filled with rocks from one point to another, Cubone was working on his swing with Bone Club against a tree and Sierra was doing basic exercises like sit ups and push ups. Another one of her morals, don't dish it out if you can't take it. There was no way she was going to work her pokemon harder than she worked herself.

"Okay, breaks over." She and the pokemon groaned. None of them wanted to get back up from their positions lying on the ground but Sierra knew if they let themselves relax too long they would have to stretch all over again and also loose their adrenaline.

She took a deep breath and grabbed a large wooden board that was also an extra from the tool shed. "Vulpix, run a few laps on the agility course I set up for you. Basically, weave between those trees, jump the logs and then when you get to that white line do a roll and get back up again. Cubone and I will work on strength over here and we'll switch soon okay?"

The pokemon barked and began to run the course. Sierra then drew two lines in the ground about 12ft apart from each other. Then, she stood on one of them and planted her feet firmly to the ground and raised the wooden board like a shield.

"Cubone, I want you to come at me. Do everything you can to push me all the way across to that line by only touching the board. You got it?"

"Cubone." It agreed and took a stance.

"Alright then, give me all you've got!"

The pokemon rushed forward and tried to push on the board which only moved Sierra back a few inches.

"Come on, you're gonna have to be stronger then that. Try using some of your moves."

The pokemon centered itself and then launched forward in a Tackle. His force smashed into the board sending Sierra half a foot back.

"There you go, now add more power!"

He Tackled again. Half a foot. Again, three fourths a foot. One foot. One foot. The cycle kept going until she was only three feet away from the other line.

"Come on Cubone, it's now or never. Get me to move these last three feet in just one attack. GO!"

"CUBONE~!" It cried, launching itself forward head first. The skull on it's head made solid contact with the center of the board sending Sierra flying back and barely able to keep her feet on the ground. She slid back just an inch beyond the line. There was now a large crack in the board, but she didn't care. She dropped it and rushed forward panting and hugged her pokemon.

"Way to go Cubone! I'm so proud of you. I think you just learned Headbutt!"

Out of nowhere, Vulpix lunged forward on the two of them throwing off their balance and sending them all tumbling to the ground. Sierra laughed as she was showered with love from both pokemon.

"Okay okay! I love you guys too, but we have to get back to training. Trust me, I know it sucks but its the only way to get stronger. Vulpix, one on one with me. Cubone, run the agility course. Same thing applies to you as it did for Vulpix. You can break ever lap or two if you need it."

Cubone nodded and dutifully set off to do its task. Sierra drew two more parallel lines, this time 20 ft apart.

"You know what to do Vulpix, so lets go!"

* * *

When Ash came outside, Sierra, Vulpix and Cubone where all jumping back and forth over a line she'd drawn in the dirt. All seemed exhausted and like they'd been training for hours. It made him feel slightly guilty at the though that they were all working hard while he was sleeping.

"Hey Ash! Have a good sleep?" She called, then mumbled encouragement to both herself and her pokemon.

"Yeah I did, thanks. How long have you been out here?"

"Umm. Since 6:30 I think? Cubone joined us around 7:30."

"Seriously? You've been out here training for four hours!"

"Really?" She panted, pushing herself to keep jumping. "Didn't notice. Time flies when you're pushing your body to its physical limits, huh guys?"

Her pokemon hurriedly agreed and Ash chuckled.

"Well, whenever you want a break I grabbed you an iced coffee so-"

"AND BREAK!" Sierra yelled, rushing towards him. Her pokemon expressed their relief and slunk to the ground as their teenage trainer greedily took the coffee from Ash.

"Wow, and here I thought the pokemon were supposed to tired."

"We've all been training." She explained. "I always train with my pokemon. Another one of my rules, 'don't dish it out if you can't take it.' We've been working on everything from-" She paused to take a large sip of the drink. "Learning and perfecting moves to running laps around the pokemon center for speed and endurance. I'm about to drop."

"Maybe you should call it a day then." Ash suggested.

Sierra zoned out, starring up at the sky. "Yeah..."

"HEY, YOU!" A voice yelled. Sierra and Ash rotated towards the voice. A girl was standing at the doors of the pokemon and pointing at Sierra. The first thing they noticed was that she was very... pink. She had pink eyes (probably contacts) and pink hair with the bangs down and curled while the back was pulled into twin buns with a pink bow resting between them. She wore a 3/4 sleeved light pink top with a pink design wrapping around at the bottom and a pink tank top underneath, a puffy pink skirt that fell to her knees, pale pink leggings, hot pink boots and a hot pink messenger bag. In front of her stood a clefairy that released the same competitive aura she did. Sierra pulled out her pokedex.

_Clefairy. This impish Pokemon is friendly and peaceful. It is believed to live inside , although very few have ever been seen by humans. _

"I bet you think your so much better then all of us with all this training your doing, running around the pokemon center and gloating at us. Well guess what, you're not!" She shouted.

Sierra blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me." The girl stated smugly while crossing her arms and Clefairy did the same.

"Okay." She began slowly. "I'm sorry if you miss interpreted my intentions, but I wasn't trying to gloat. All I was doing was training with my pokemon, because I believe trainers should work just as hard as pokemon do."

The pink girl sneered. "I bet you think your so perfect; A right goody-two-shoes."

"Don't worry, she's not. Trust me, I'd know. I'm traveling with her." Ash pipped up. Sierra sent a glare at him that almost made him sink to the ground like she usually did.

"I'm not. I know I'm not. Nobody is."

"I beg to differ." The girl smiled while flipping her hair. "Barbara Lawson, at your service."

Sierra scoffed. _'I'm surprised her name isn't Barbie.'_

"It that a problem? If so, we can solve it right here, right now with a battle." Barbara glared.

"Fine!" Sierra agreed. Ash gulped.

"Ash, you're ref." She declared as each girl went to a side of the pokemon center battle field.

"Why me?"

"Do you see anyone else?"

"No..."

"Alright then. Go. If you need held I'm sure Totodile would be gladly be of service."

Ash glared at her while Totodile laughed and went to stand where the ref should. "Would each trainer please chose their first pokemon?"

"Easy. Go Slowpoke!" Barbara yelled, tossing a pokeball up into the air. It opened and in a bright white light Slowpoke appeared, though it seemed oblivious to the situation entirely.

Sierra scanned it with her pokedex.

_Slowpoke, the Dopey Pokemon. No on can tell when a slowpoke is thinking, if it ever does think. Its specialty is fishing with its tail._

"Slowpoke? Fine then. Cubone, show her what we've been working on!" Sierra declared. Cubone grinned and rushed forward into its first real battle.

"Oh, uh, Barbara, how many pokemon do you have?" Ash questioned awkwardly.

"Two." She answered, sounding irritated.

"So does Era! Okay then, this a two on two battle. When your ready-"

"Use tackle!" Barbara ordered. Slowpoke leapt forward to ram into Cubone but the pokemon jumped up and out of the way.

"Cubone, Bone Club!"

"Water Gun!"

Slowpoke turned and opened its mouth and a jet of water flew out. Cubone tried to dodge but wasn't quick enough and got hit, luckily not taking the full damage.

Sierra grit her teeth. _'He isn't fast enough to dodge non-physical attacks yet!' _

"Cubone, are you okay?"

The pokemon who'd been knocked to the ground got back up and winked at his trainer, a sign that he was okay and ready to keep going. At the other end of the field, Barbara was laughing.

"Oh please, save yourself the battle and give up now. Slowpoke is a water type and Cubone is a ground type. There is no way that you can win!"

Sierra's eyes darkened. "Everything you say pisses me off."

Ash and Barbara gasped. "What-"

"IF YOU WANT A BATTLE THEN I'LL GIVE YOU ONE AND I WON'T HOLD BACK! CUBONE, HEADBUTT!"

Cubone sprang forward and knocked into Slowpoke at full force. Slowpoke cried out in pain and was sent flying back.

"Follow it up with Bone Club!"

Slowpoke got up and then Cubone was there, swinging is bone and once more sending Slowpoke flying backwards. The pink pokemon got up once again, struggling to its feet.

"Slowpoke! Use Water Gun NOW!" Barbara ordered. Slowpoke fired the water out of its mouth and sent it at Cubone who got hit once again.

"Finish it with Tackle!"

"I don't think so. Cubone, Headbutt!"

The pokemon launched themselves forward at the same time and made impact. The force sent both reeling backwards, Cubone still on his feet and Slowpoke onto is back. Swirls filled the dopey pokemon's eyes.

"Slowpoke is unable to battle, please send out your next pokemon." Ash droned, still mad about being forced to be the ref.

"Good try Slowpoke, we'll just have to work harder next time to prove to this tomboy that pink pokemon are the best! Clefairy, it's all on you!"

"I'm not a tomboy!" Sierra yelled. "And just to make things more interesting, Cubone, come on back."

The pokemon hobbled back over and was immediately scooped up by is trainer. "You fought well." She whispered, planting a small kiss on his head. "Now Vulpix, finish this up quickly and we can go get lunch."

Barbara's face went red. "Careful, wouldn't want your face to clash with the rest of your outfit yeah?" Sierra taunted.

"I'VE HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF YOU!" She screamed. "CLEFAIRY, USE DISARMING VOICE!"

"Vulpix, take the hit."

"What?!" Ash exclaimed. Barbara laughed when the attack hit Vulpix full force and kicked dust up into the air. When the dust cleared, Vulpix was still standing haven taken minimal damage.

"You should know that Fairy type attacks are weak against Fire types. Vulpix, use Flame Wheel!"

Vulpix darted with fire in its mouth and then began to roll forwards. Clefairy tried to dodge but Vulpix was too quick and rammed into her.

Clefairy was struggling to stand.

"Clefairy use pound."

"Quick attack."

Vulpix was a blur as it hit Clefairy. She took some damage from the pound, but Clefairy took more.

Barbara grit her teeth. "Clefairy, use pound once more!" _'How is it so fast?'_

"Keep it back with Ember!"

Embers went flying from Vulpix's mouth repeatedly hitting Clefairy until she fell with swirls in her eyes.

"Clefairy is unable to battle. The winner is Sierra!"

"Nice job Vulpix." Sierra praised as she pet her pokemon. Barbara was shaking. "How? How could I lose?"

"If you love your pokemon, then you have train with them, not just admire them from afar." Sierra explained, her dark mood gone.

"THIS ISN'T THE LAST TIME YOU'RE GOING TO SEE ME!" The pink pokemon trainer screamed. "ONE DAY I'M GOING TO BATTLE YOU AGAIN AND I'M GOING TO WIN!"

She placed her pokemon back into their pokeballs and ran back inside the pokemon center. Sierra sweat dropped. "Umm, I'll look forward to it I guess."

Ash placed a hand on her shoulder. "Congratulations Sierra, I think you just made your first rival!"

"Yeah, I guess so."

* * *

Ash was exhausted. After she took a shower, Sierra had insisted that they go shopping to prepare for their trip through the Viridian forest in order to finally reach pewter city. They'd been shopping for around two hours and it was now about 4:00. Both agreed on an early dinner and were now waiting for their food at a little restaurant a few buildings down from the pokemon center. Sierra was petting Vulpix and Cubone was sleeping on her lap, but Ash was silently.

"Yeah, I'm tired too. I don't fancy shopping all that much either." Sierra spoke up.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Ash agreed absentmindedly.

"Alright, what's going on? Your hats not on to tight is it?"

"What? NO!" He argued, and Sierra cracked up laughing.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it's not. So what's really on your mind?"

He let out a deep breath. "What was up with you earlier?"

"What'd you mean?"

"You know, when you were yelling at Barbara and then your attitude got all, you know, dark and stuff."

Sierra raised an eyebrow. "I have a dark attitude now do I?"

"W-wait that's not what I meant."

She laughed. "It's okay, I know what you meant. I guess I do kind of have this dark side, like when I start to loose hope or confidence I try to hide by curling up in a ball or when I get really angry I, yeah, you saw that. I suppose thats just me trying to hide the way I'm feeling from other people. I'll work on it."

Ash sighed in relief. "Yeah, no offense but please do. I-" He made eye contact with her. "It scares me, when you do that. I don't know what to do and I don't know how to help."

"Ash." She whispered softly.

"Don't worry, I'm sure that we'll figure it out."

"Yeah, me too."

* * *

Nurse Joy greeted them when they entered the pokemon center.

"Welcome back! You're Ash Ketchum and Sierra Tyson, correct?"

"That's us." Ash agreed.

"Oh, good. There's a phone call for you from Professor Oak. Right this way please."

She lead them over to a video phone and pressed a button, then handed Ash the phone connected to it. Professor Oak's face filled the screen.

"Hello Ash, Sierra, how are you doing?"

"Pretty good professor. Sierra already has 12 pokemon entered into her pokedex and even made her first rival today!"

Sierra smacked Ash's arm. "Ash! I wanted to tell him! Geez, you sound like my mom."

"No I don't!"

"Yeah, you do."

"Anyway!" The professor interrupted. "What do you plan on doing next?"

"We're heading out for Pewter city tomorrow. I'd say we'll get there in a week or so."

"I see. Anything important to do there?"

"Yeah. Sierra's going to challenge Brock to a gym battle! She decided that she'll fight the gyms in order to get stronger so she can meet a legendary pokemon that she's always wanted to see."

"Interesting. And which one would that be?"

"Sorry professor, its a secret." She winked. "But I'll tell you after I defeat the last gym. Is that okay?"

"Fine, very fine. So, what was this about you having a rival now?"

Sierra and Ash then animatedly launched into the story of how they met Barbara after Sierra was training and the battle they had gotten into. The pokemon also jumped in when they could but it became obvious that Professor Oak had no idea what they were saying.

"So was their any reason for this call professor?" Sierra asked.

"Would it be that bad if I just wanted to talk to the two of you?"

"Er, no but-"

The old man laughed. "There is actually. When you see Brock, can you send him a message for me?"

"Sure, anything." Professor Oak told them what he needed them to say and then continued talking for a few more minutes.

"Well look at the time. I better get going, theres still a few more things I have to do before bed. Goodbye and take care."

"You too." They replied. The screen went black.

Ash jumped out of his seat and stretched. It was around 6:30 and he wasn't as tired as he had been before since he'd gotten food into his system.

"I'm gonna go see if there's anyone who wants to battle. You coming Era?"

"Nah." She decided as she yawned. "I'm exhausted. I think I'm just going to go and get ready for bed. You can tell me all about it tomorrow when we're on the road again, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, see you later!" He exclaimed and then rushed off with Pikachu and Totodile.

* * *

Sierra was laying in bed but she couldn't fall asleep. After attempting to do so for half an hour, she gave up and ended up turning on the news instead.

_"Breaking News: Several reports of theft have been called in within the past two months around Pewter, Celadon and Saffron city."_

Sierra turned up the volume.

_"Several witnesses say that they have seen thieves dressed in identical uniforms with a red R on them that match up with the Team Rocket uniform from several years ago. Police ask that if you see anyone wearing similar cloths that you call them immeaditly. They are widely known for stealing pokemon. Jim is down in Saffron city talking to a young victim right now." _

The screen switched to an image of Saffron city where a news anchor was standing with a little boy who had tears in his eyes.

_"Thank you Wendy. Right now, I'm talking with Peter, an 8 year old boy who was attacked by Team Rocket just out side the city. Tell us Peter, what happened." _

The little boy Peter grabbed the microphone and Sierra felt her heart break.

_"W-well I was training with my T-tangela just outside the city w-when they came. Th-the mean people dressed in black took Tangela's pokeball a-and smashed it to bits! A-after they set Tangela free, they took her away from me!" _

"Oh no." Sierra whispered, hugging her pokemon close. "They don't even know that it isn't Team Rocket but Team PHANTOM." She clenched her fists. "I won't let them get away with this, I promise."

* * *

_A/N: Sorry that this chapter is shorter then the others, but I hope you all still enjoyed it and if you did, like I said earlier please review! Also, if you go to my profile page I put up a link for a picture so you can see what Sierra and her Vulpix look like, so you should check that out! For now though have a good rest of the day (or night.) _

_Next time:_**_ Surviving the Viridian Forest_**


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